Furniture-makers recognize Latino market's growth

Jura Koncius, Washington Post

Published
4:00 am PST, Wednesday, December 8, 2004

2004-12-08 04:00:00 PDT High Point, N.C. -- In a crowded showroom at the International Home Furnishings Market here recently, Ricky Martin was shaking his booty singing "Livin' la Vida Loca" on multiple wide-screen TVs as waiters served sangria. In the midst of the hoopla, Spanish-language TV talk-show queen Cristina Saralegui gave store buyers and media types a tour of the Casa Cristina collection from Pulaski Furniture based on her Miami home -- and sporting bilingual price tags.

"I wanted to do a collection that represents who I am," said Cristina, who has 100 million worldwide viewers for her program, Univision's "El Show de Cristina."

"The sheer numbers of Latin Americans in America have brought our culture to the forefront, and I think America is ready to embrace it."

Cuban-born Cristina, who goes by her first name, has been called "Oprah with salsa." She and Pulaski, a 49-year-old Virginia maker of traditional wood furniture, have joined forces to catch the eye of consumers in the red-hot Latino market, an emerging power on America's retail landscape.

Home ownership among Latinos, the nation's largest minority group, increased by 21 percent between 1994 and 2004, according to census figures. And where there are home buyers, there are furniture buyers: Latino households allotted nearly $7 billion for furniture spending in 2003, according to Pulaski research.

U.S. Latino purchasing power is expected to reach nearly $700 billion for 2004, according to HispanTelligence, a tracker of Latino market trends.

Pulaski is betting that the Latin star power of the outspoken platinum blond media mogul -- who already has her own magazine, radio show and is a favorite on "Hollywood Squares" -- can sell furniture designed to connect with these consumers. Creating the line was a complex task, according to Executive Vice President James H. Kelly, whose team blended Cristina's Miami- Mediterranean style with design motifs from 20 countries stretching from Spain to the Caribbean to South America. The result is a casual, sometimes rustic look incorporating bold carving, terra-cotta tile and wrought-iron detailing.

There is lively debate within the home furnishings industry about marketing directly to Latinos, or any other specific ethnic group.

"Lots of sellers of consumer products have decided that the taste of the Latin customer is different in some regards than the Anglo customer," said Warren Shoulberg, editor in chief of HFN, an industry news weekly. "Some furniture companies have determined that they have different preferences on colors, which might reflect the heritage of the country they came from, and finishes, which might reflect more of their native woods."

Regina Molaro, senior associate editor of License magazine, says the furniture industry is wise to look to the beauty, fashion and art industries that have addressed the growing Latino numbers in this country. "You are kind of missing the boat if you don't," she said.

But Ed Tashjian, vice president of marketing for Century Furniture, doesn't think he has to appeal separately to Latinos. "Hispanics have assimilated into this culture better than any other ethnic group," he said. "Ethnicity is not a good discriminate variable for targeting audiences in high- end furniture buying behavior."

One of Century's best-selling furniture designers is Oscar de la Renta, a native of the Dominican Republic. Century doesn't target advertisements explicitly to Latinos, Tashjian said, but "I will tell you that Floridians of Hispanic descent do go gaga for Oscar de la Renta. They are all over it."

"Yes it's for Latinos," Cristina said of her furniture, "but it's also for everyone else."

In a style it pegged as "Euro-Mediterranean," Pulaski has made leather- topped bars with swivel stools for entertaining ($3,749 for a three-piece set) and distressed wood kitchen islands designed to encourage family gatherings ($1,599). For teens: four-poster beds in rubbed white finish and cherry bunk beds to tap into the growing numbers of U.S. Latinos with young children.

"We did focus groups in New York and California," said Pulaski's Kelly. "We asked: 'What kind of furniture do you like?' The answer was, "We are mainstream Americans, but we are from the Latino/Hispanic background and we like a touch of that in our home.' "

In recent years it has been clear that multicultural marketing is making inroads in America's marketplace, evidenced in the sushi sold at grocery stores and the Latin pop explosion in the music industry.

Such celebrities as Jennifer Lopez and Thalia Sodi are marketing clothing and fragrance lines. Automobile and pharmaceutical manufacturers are pitching ads directly to Spanish-speaking Americans. Mojitos are rivaling martinis at bars. Last year, Sears started a fashion collection by Lucy Pereda, a Cuban- born former model who now hosts a Spanish-language show on cooking and decorating. According to a Sears spokeswoman, the clothes feature a lot of embroidery, bright colors and a body-conscious cut.

"I think more and more we are becoming more aware of our culture and proud of it," said Alexandria, Va., designer Victoria Sanchez, who comes from a Mexican background. "If I had a Latin American client, I would be interested in trying to include something like this because we have this common bond." Sanchez does see a market for Casa Cristina in places such as Washington, California, New York and Chicago, with their large Latino populations, but she wonders if many non-Latinos have yet heard of Cristina.

Pulaski is the first major U.S. furniture manufacturer to specifically identify the Latino audience with a major collection.

Other introductions at the October market here, however, had decidedly Latin influences: Stanley Furniture introduced Santa Barbara, rich aged-maple pieces distinguished by leather, scrolled iron and hammered-metal hardware. The South America Collection from National Geographic Home drew on design inspiration from Venezuela and Peru in more than 200 products designed by nine licensees. One licensee was Lane Home Furnishings, whose designs include ornately carved wardrobes and beds and feature tooled leathers and wrought iron. Palacek, another licensee, produced pillows embroidered with leaf patterns taken from the Venezuelan rain forest.

John Dumbacher, National Geographic's senior vice president of licensing, said the company was not deliberately targeting a Latino market. "That wasn't our original concept; we do our pieces for a global market," he said, acknowledging that some consumers may purchase the South America pieces because of family connections to that region. "Heritage and our genealogy play a big part in how we all live."

Pulaski approached Cristina about a year ago. "I started hearing a different beat to the music: not Tommy Bahama or Polo; it was Latino/Hispanic, " said Kelly. "We said, 'Who can help us get the flavor and the heartbeat of this culture?' Only one name made sense."

He contacted Cristina, 56, and her husband, Marcos Avila, former bass player in Gloria Estefan's Miami Sound Machine and now her manager, about licensing opportunities. The couple, parents of three children, invited Kelly to their house, a 1932 Mediterranean estate on an island in Miami.

Cristina said she was amazed when the Pulaski team whipped out cameras and started snapping photos of her Florida-casual look, full of terra-cotta floors, Cuban art and warm woods. "The Pulaski people came over with a little camera. I said, 'Is this for the Enquirer?' But I was so thrilled because actually I'm a frustrated designer."

Cristina said her approach to design -- like her interviewing style -- is down to earth. "I love decorating and homes, I love it better than clothing," said Cristina, relaxing in a back office in the Pulaski showroom. "I am dressed all day in a St. John's suit with pantyhose and pearls. When I get home, I want to put my feet up. My house has to be comfortable."

The collection, said Kelly, had to stand on its own merits, so even people unfamiliar with Cristina would like it. But that's not going to be a problem in many U.S. markets. "Everybody knows Cristina," said Santos Moreno, a buyer for Casa Linda Furniture in Los Angeles. "Ninety percent of my customers are Hispanic. And probably 100 percent have heard of Cristina."

And next year, even more consumers will know who she is. In March, her furniture will arrive in stores. And last week, it was announced that Cristina has signed agreements to create home accessories and rugs.